Things Change
by Sesshoumaru's Princess
Summary: A/U Seph/Tifa. I can't give a summary without giving away the story... The chars and places don't belong to me, but to SquareEnix.
1. Enter Sephiroth

**A/N:** Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!! What is up my fans? *cricket noises*… ok fine. So I don't have many fans anymore… but I'm really sorry for not writing anything in about 2 years… I've been working on an original story elsewhere so… yeah… Well anyway, this story is not originally mine, but I know the author and with their permission, I'm posting it. If you really like it, I'll tell you who wrote it so you can check out their other stories. Now, here we…go!

This takes place a few years after Meteor. AU obviously.

**Things Change**

**Chapter 1: Enter Sephiroth**

_Scrape-thump. Scrape-thump. Scrape-thump. _

The sound echoed through the empty streets of Kalm like a death toll. The man's brain told his legs to proceed, but his feet ignored the order. So he stood still, looking around confusedly at the vacancy of it all. The streets had been alive just moments before. Now not even a whisper of wind dared to drift about. They had all taken one look at him and scattered, most of them screaming or crying. Some too afraid to do either. The man looked at himself. What could have frightened them all so terribly? Was it the blood? He'd tried to wash it off, but it seemed to be stained to him. Could it be the sword? Yes, that had to be it. A full foot taller than himself, the man realized it would be best to rid himself of it. He dropped it where he stood. But suddenly, he felt as if he'd released apart of himself. Shaking the feeling away, he continued to stagger along. He had no idea why he'd been going this direction. Something in the very back of his mind told him that he would find something very important if he continued along. So he did. He walked absently toward a tiny building, no bigger than and ice cream parlor. He reached for the door handle, then hesitated. Finally, he opened the door and everyone inside froze. No one uttered a word, no one dared to move an inch. Finally, the disbelief disappeared and panic ensued. Everyone rose from their seat and looked ready to jump out the windows or something if needs be. He took a step forward and the crowd gasped. He walked slowly toward the assembled group and they backed up. Out of sheer panic, someone pitched a chair at the man and it struck him in the shoulder, but he made no effort to retaliate. Upon realizing that they could maybe make a get away, the people ran past him and our of the building. The only people remaining were two women behind the counter. One with red hair and freckles, looking as if she were looking into the face of death itself, and the other with long brown hair, looking as confused as the man felt, but not directly afraid. No one spoke for several minutes. Finally, the man began.

"Please," he begged. "I need your help."

The red-head was visibly white.

"No...no..." she said backing up against the wall.

The man walked forward.

"I won't harm you." he told them, though they looked less than convinced.

A name gnawed at the back of his mind.

"Tifa." he continued. "I'm looking for someone named Tifa."

The brown-haired woman spoke. "I'm Tifa."

The man's eyes glowed green with happiness.

"Yes!" he said as her face registered. "Yes you are! I need your help, Tifa. Please."

She looked him up and down, slowly taking in the red stain that originated at his head and extended down his shirtless chest. She quickly noted the absence of the sword he always he with him, but said nothing. She had a hunch.

"Sir, what is your name?" she asked.

The man looked at her stupidly.

"What would you do if I told you that I hate the ex-General of SOLDIER, Sephiroth.?" she continued.

The man frowned. "I would ask what that had to do with anything."

Tifa smiled. "Alright sir, I'll help you."

The man sighed in relief. Tifa walked over and took his arm.

"Come." She said. "We have a lot of talking to do. First though, do you want some java?"

The man blinked at her.

"Coffee." Tifa corrected.

"Uh..."

"Nevermind. Let's go."

She led him to her condo and told him to sit while she got something to remove the blood stain. When she returned, she began her story.

"First things first." she said. "_You're_ name is Sephiroth. You are twenty-seven years old-"

"Wait." Sephiroth interrupted. Tifa looked up at him expectantly.

"You said that you hate Sephiroth. Am I Sephiroth?" He asked.

Tifa nodded, slightly embarrassed.

"You hate me?" Sephiroth asked.

'_How do you answer a question like that?' _Tifa wondered. "I don't really know. You are, or were, _Sephiroth, _but now you're just Sephiroth with amnesia."

"I'm what?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, you explain to me what you remember."

Sephiroth sighed.

"Ok" he began. "I remember waking up feeling like I was hit by a truck, whatever that is. I sat up and picked up my sword for a reason I can't explain. I climbed out of a giant hole or something, and for some reason, your name would not leave my thoughts. So, I decided I would find you and you would help me. But why do people hate me?"

"That is too much for you to handle right now." Tifa replied. Then she added. "All done."

She stood up and Sephiroth inspected her work. "How did you do that? I tried everything."

"It's a secret." Tifa told him. Sephiroth shrugged. An awkward silence followed. Tifa nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a knock on her door. She walked around the wall that separated the living room from the entry hall. Sephiroth heard voices, one was Tifa's and the other was a man's. "Thank you." Tifa said. She closed the door and reappeared flipping through the mail. She trashed half of it and sat on the couch with the rest.. She opened one envelope and read the card inside.

"Oh how sweet." She said to herself. She stood and placed the card on the shelf above her fireplace. She returned to her mail and placed it on the end-table. Her clock chimed 6 times, indicating that it was 6:00.

Tifa turned to Sephiroth. "Are you hungry?"

Sephiroth hesitated. "I'd hate to be a bother…"

Tifa smiled sweetly. "Not at all. What do you like?" Sephiroth frowned.

Tifa smiled. "Oh, right. Well, let's see… I'm going to make something, and you tell me if you like it, ok?"

Sephiroth nodded. She then sliced some bread and got out some cold cuts. She put out a smorgasbord of sandwich fixings and told Sephiroth to help himself. He assembled a roast beef sandwich with onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. Tifa offered him a choice of drinks and he decided on Root Beer. He stared at his meal strangely.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing."

He ate his sandwich and drank his soda, and another awkward silence followed. Tifa twiddled her fingers nervously while Sephiroth shifted uncomfortably.

"Do you have any place to stay?" Tifa asked.

Sephiroth shook his head solemnly. "Everyone is afraid of me." he bowed his head slightly. "I thought it was my sword but…"

"Hey, where is it anyway?" Tifa asked. Sephiroth looked up.

"What?"

"Your Masamune."

"My what?"

"Your sword."

"Oh. I abandoned it at the entrance of this town.""Ok, that might help a little. But it's just the fact that you're you."

"And exactly what's wrong with me?"

"I'll tell you when you can handle it. Like I said, it's a heavy burden to bear."

"Tomorrow?"

"Probably not. Besides, I have to work tomorrow."

"What am I to do?"

Tifa hesitated. "Well… Leaving the house is not an option, so I suppose you should just stay until we figure something out."

Sephiroth nodded.

"Well," Tifa continued. "It's 6:45 and I have to be at work at 5:00, which means I have to get up at 4:00. I'll make up the couch for you, then, I'm going to bed okay?"

Sephiroth nodded again. Tifa opened the sofa-bed, threw a sheet and some blankets on, gave him some pillows, and went to bed.


	2. Tea and Old Friends

**A/N:** I apologize. I failed to mention in the last chapter that the characters and places do not belong to me or the original author. They are property of SquareEnix. Trust me, if I owned them, I would be doing a lot more with them than writing fan fiction.

Cupcake: Luckily, this is all pre-written, so all I really have to do is type it up and submit it. I will type as fast as I am able and get these up for ya.

**Things Change**

**Chapter 2: Tea and Old Friends**

When Tifa arrived home around 3 the next afternoon, Sephiroth greeted her with a friendly smile. She smiled back, and his smile almost unnoticeably switched from friendly, to inquisitive.

She imitated him. "What?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "Did you have a good day?"

Tifa nodded. "Yes I did. Thanks. Did you?"

"It was okay."

_Whatever… _Tifa thought.

"Why are you home so early?" Sephiroth continued. "Yesterday you were still wherever you were."

"Yesterday I had to take over Lara's shift."

"Who?"

"A friend."

_Ding Dong!_

Tifa hurried to the door. She opened it and let out a loud squeal of delight.

"Cloud! Hi! I've missed you!" she said.

Sephiroth listened as the man, Cloud was apparently his name, and Tifa chatted in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" Cloud asked. Tifa was quick to answer. "Of course you- oh, wait. Uh, no. I don't think that would be wise."

Cloud didn't seem to be expecting that. "What? Why not?"

Tifa stalled, hoping Sephiroth would get the hint. He didn't. Sephiroth walked over and Cloud almost died of a heart attack then and there. "What the heck?!"

He drew his Ultima Weapon and prepared to strike.

"No Cloud!" Tifa protested.

Cloud ignored her and lunged at Sephiroth, only to have his target move at the last second, causing him to collide with the coffee table. He quickly righted himself, going for another pass. He barely had time to stop before killing Tifa instead.

She stood in front of Sephiroth with her arms spread. "Stop Cloud! You don't understand!"

Cloud frowned. "What is there not to understand? Tifa, you have _Sephiroth_ in your _house_!!"

"I know that! But you have to listen to me! He doesn't remember anything! Do you think I would be here right now if he did?"

"…but-"

"Do you think I would be protecting him if I didn't have complete trust that he wouldn't harm me?"

"No… but Tifa-"

"No 'buts'! Just let him explain. Sephiroth, explain."

Sephiroth hesitated, eyeing Cloud and his sword. "I, um… w-well…"

"Out with it!" Cloud ordered. Sephiroth gained control of his speech and told his story. Cloud was still skeptical.

"And you believed him?" He asked Tifa.

"Yes!" She exclaimed.

"Why?"

Silence.

"Well?"

"Because, well… I don't know… I just do, I guess."

"That is the lamest thing I have ever heard."

"Yeah? Well… Just because you don't think he's capable of change! Go home Cloud!"

"Gladly." Tifa and Sephiroth stepped aside, allowing Cloud to leave.

Tifa slammed the door with an irritated sigh. "I'm sorry Tifa." Sephiroth said.

Tifa stopped glaring at the door and turned to him. "It's not your fault. Well, it is, but you know what I mean."

Sephiroth shook his head. "No, I don't. And I won't until you tell me." Tifa sighed.

Sephiroth continued. "That's how they all react. Why do that all do that?"They were silent for a long while. Finally, Sephiroth asked, "Tifa, did I deserve what happened to me?"

Tifa took a breath. "Yes. I'm afraid you did."

Sephiroth wasn't at all prepared for that. "Oh."

He unnecessarily cleared his throat. An awkward silence followed, there seemed to be a lot of that.

Sephiroth changed the subject. "So, it's your birthday?"

Tifa looked at him with a puzzled expression. Sephiroth pointed to the card on her shelf.

"Oh!" She said brightly. "Yeah, in 3 days."

"How nice."

"Yeah, Nanaki sent that card."

"Who?"

"A friend."

"Oh."

"You made the 'bed' I see."

Sephiroth looked at the neatly made sofa-bed sheepishly. "Yeah."

Tifa smiled. "Do you want some tea?"

"What?"

"I'm going to make some tea, do you want some?"

"What's tea?"

"Never mind. I'll make some and you tell me if you like it okay?"

"Alright." Sephiroth followed her into the kitchen as she put some water on.

"So," Sephiroth began. "Who's Nanaki?"

Tifa smiled. "An old friend. Hey, I think I have a picture somewhere."She fished around a drawer a moment and retrieved a photo. She showed it to Sephiroth and said, "It's a group shot taken after we saved the world."

Sephiroth looked at her. "You saved the world?"

Tifa nodded. "Along with Cloud, Nanaki, Cait Sith, Cid, Barret, Vincent, and Yuffie." She pointed to each one as she said their names. Her smile faded a bit.

"There was… one other, but… there was an accident."

"What happened?""I'll tell you some other time."

"Alright." He handed the picture back to Tifa and she put it away. The kettle whistled just then, and Tifa poured the water into her mug. She waited a while for the tea to steep, then she took a sip. She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened her eyes again, she offered her mug to Sephiroth. He was a little hesitant, but with Tifa's prompting, he took a drink.

"Good?" Tifa asked. Sephiroth nodded and swallowed.

"So," He said, "What did you save the world from?"

Tifa almost inhaled her tea. Sephiroth looked at her strangely. "You okay?"

Tifa nodded. "Meteor."

"Huh?"

"Meteor. We saved the world from Meteor."

"What's Meteor?"

"An evil thing summoned by Black Materia."

"What's Materia?"

"I'll show you." Tifa set her tea down and went to her room. She emerged a second later with a small, white, sphere.

"_This_ is Materia." Tifa smiled a sad smile. "This one does nothing. I just kept it because it belonged to a friend of mine. The others do various things."

She went on to describe how Materia was used, when she finished, Sephiroth seemed to get the hang of it. It was almost weird for her to think that the once great Sephiroth, didn't know anything about Materia now. Tifa took a drink of her tea, then spit it back out and into the sink.

"I hate cold tea." she explained. Sephiroth smiled a little. The doorbell then rang, and Tifa scurried off to answer it. She returned a moment later with a stack of mail in one hand and a single envelope in the other. She put the stack on the table and opened the envelope, the contents made her smile and she put it on the shelf.

"That card," she said. "Was from Barrett."

Sephiroth smiled. "How long ago did you save the world?"

"You're still on that subject? About… wow a year ago next month. Didn't take anyone very long to get their lives back on track."

"Where did all your friends end up?"

"Hang on." Tifa brought out the picture again for reference. "Barrett and his daughter Marlene moved to Corel. Cid moved back to Rocket Town and is engaged to Shera, Yuffie moved back to Wutai, Cait Sith, or Reeve, moved to Costa del Sol, as he bought the Shinra house there, no one knows where Vincent went, but I have a hunch he went back to the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim, but Cloud denies ever seeing him there, Cloud moved to Nibelheim, and Nanaki went with Cloud."

"If Nanaki went with Cloud, why didn't Cloud send a card?"

Tifa said nothing, she just stood blinking and frowning at Sephiroth with her mouth open. "That's a good question, and I don't have any idea."

She went and sat down on her chair in the living room, and stared moodily at her hands.

Sephiroth sat across the room from her on the futon. "I'm sorry Tifa. I didn't intend to make you unhappy."

Tifa looked up at him. "It's not your fault. I'm just really surprised. It's not like I live for getting birthday cards, it's just nice to be remembered. Especially by the man I used to- never mind."

"Used to what?"

"Nothing. Nothing you need to worry about." She stood up and began to cook dinner. It was obvious to Sephiroth that something was troubling her, but he didn't want to press. So he just dropped the matter and asked Tifa if he could help with dinner.


End file.
